Streetcar route might depend on just 6 votes

By Vianna Davila :
September 24, 2013

Street scene near The Pearl Brewery along Broadway Street on the proposed five-mile streetcar route. A board vote will come later this month to determine whether to accept the route or make changes.

Photo By Kin Man Hui/San Antonio Express-News

Readers continue to weigh in on the subject of the proposed streetcar system, which is planned to run along Broadway Street near the 1221 Lofts on its five-mile route.

Photo By Kin Man Hui/San Antonio Express-News

Street scene on Broadway Street near the 1221 Lofts along the proposed five-mile streetcar route. A board vote will come later this month to determine whether to accept the route or make changes.

Photo By Kin Man Hui/San Antonio Express-News

Street scene on Frio Street along the proposed five-mile streetcar route. A board vote will come later this month to determine whether to accept the route or make changes.

Photo By Kin Man Hui/San Antonio Express-News

Street scene on Santa Rosa Avenue with the Vistana Lofts on the horizon along the proposed five-mile streetcar route. A board vote will come later this month to determine whether to accept the route or make changes.

Photo By Kin Man Hui/San Antonio Express-News

A street scene along Commerce Street from Milam Park near the proposed five-mile streetcar route. A board vote will come later this month to determine whether to accept the route or make changes.

Photo By Kin Man Hui/San Antonio Express-News

The intersection of Cesar Chavez Boulevard and South Flores Street along the proposed five-mile streetcar route. A board vote will come later this month to determine whether to accept the route or make changes.

Photo By Kin Man Hui/San Antonio Express-News

View of the John H. Wood Federal Courthouse along Cesar Chavez Boulevard along the proposed five-mile streetcar route. A board vote will come later this month to determine whether to accept the route or make changes.

Photo By Kin Man Hui/San Antonio Express-News

View of the Alamodome near the Robert Thompson Transit Center along the proposed five-mile streetcar route. A board vote will come later this month to determine whether to accept the route or make changes.

On Tuesday, when the VIA Metropolitan Transit board is expected to make one of its biggest decisions yet about a downtown streetcar system, only six or seven of the 10 members will be able to vote.

Three trustees have recused themselves from choosing a route because of a potential financial conflict of interest. It's unknown if another trustee might follow suit Tuesday; he could not be reached for comment.

On Monday, Steve Allison became the third trustee to say he'd step aside. He cited his son's part-time job as a youth director at St. Mark's Episcopal Church on Pecan Street. Because his son derives more than 10 percent of his gross annual income from an entity within 500 feet of the proposed streetcar route, state law says that qualifies as a conflict for Allison as a VIA trustee, he said.

VIA planners have recommended the longest and most expensive route — 5.9 miles — which is projected to cost at least $280 million to construct and might exceed $350 million when contingency costs are added. The trustees can approve that recommendation, modify it or go with a different option.